Professional Learning

Community links and Ambassadors

Community links

Developing and maintaining community links can strengthen school languages programs and promote their sustainability .  There are a number of approaches that can be used, however, each school will need to look at their local context to determine which are suitable for them:

• Students participate and contribute to community festival and cultural events
• Conducting multicultural assemblies and culturally specific events, eg. Art exhibitions
• Inviting parents who speak the target language to participate in language lessons, other learning areas and in school events, eg. School camp
• Invite parents or members of the community who speak the target language to share about their culture, either in the target language or in English
• Establish partnerships with other schools in the local community who also teach the same language -  complete student, teacher or resource exchanges
• Develop links with local businesses who use the target language in their business operations

Adapted from Teaching Languages in the Primary School, Julie Browett, Anne Spencer. 2006

Asia Literacy Ambassadors

School Business Partnerships help students see the relevance of Asia capabilities, including language learning, beyond the classroom and helps school communities understand the importance of Asia for Australia’s future.

There are a variety of ways to get involved in AEF’s School Business Partnerships, including:

• Invite an Asia Literacy Ambassador to your school to share their experience of using Asian language skills and inspire your students to continue language learning.
• Years 9 & 10 secondary students can participate in an Opening a door into Asia event
• Workplace visits can provide students with the opportunity to experience first-hand how Asian languages are of value in the workplace

Illustration of Practice